9 Syphilis Myths and Facts

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is commonly transmitted through sex. While antibiotics and same-day STD testing are powerful weapons against it, the first tool in a person’s arsenal should be accurate information. However, there are a lot of common STD myths out there, and erroneous information can make the difference between treating this disease and dealing with it over the long term. Rapid STD Testing is here to debunk several of these syphilis myths and replace them with facts.

What Is Syphilis?

Syphilis is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection caused by the growth of Treponema pallidum bacteria in the body. Humanity has been aware of syphilis and its harmful effects since ancient times, but scientists didn’t develop a cure until the advent of antibiotics.

Because of its long history and often-devastating effects, syphilis has a lot of stigma and myths surrounding it.

How Does It Spread, and What Are Its Risk Factors?

A syphilis infection manifests as small sores on infected areas. In many cases, these sores are too small to see. However, if a sore comes into contact with another person’s tissues, the disease can spread from person to person.

You cannot spread syphilis through contact with objects like doorknobs and toilet seats or from sharing clothing with an infected person. It requires more direct contact with infected tissue to spread. This usually means sexual contact, but pregnant people have spread syphilis to their newborns through the birthing process as well. This is why everyone who is pregnant should get rapid STD testing at least once.

Those at the highest risk of contracting syphilis include:

• People who engage in high-risk behaviors like unprotected sex
• People who have sex with multiple partners
• People with HIV or similar diseases
• Men who have sex with men

However, anyone who is sexually active can be at risk of syphilis infection. One of the most common STI myths is that there is nothing you can do to prevent infection. However, this is far from the truth. The best ways to reduce your risk of syphilis are using a barrier method of protection correctly and getting STD testing regularly.

Stages and Symptoms

Syphilis has three stages of infection, each of which has unique and identifiable symptoms.

In primary syphilis, also called early-stage syphilis, a small sore begins to form on the infected areas. This sore is called a chancre, and it usually takes about three weeks to develop after the initial infection. Most of the time, this sore is completely painless.

Secondary syphilis is where most infected people realize their status. This stage can cause a full-body rash, hair loss, swollen lymph nodes, and wartlike sores on the genitals. While these symptoms can go away on their own after a few weeks in a latent stage of infection, that doesn’t mean you can rightly call yourself cured. This phase can last up to a year, and it’s common for symptoms to rise and fade during that time.

Up to one-third of people with untreated secondary syphilis end up developing tertiary syphilis. This advanced syphilis damages your internal organs, including your heart, nerves, and brain. The root infection is still treatable in these cases, but the organ damage may not be.

Sometimes, a syphilis infection can spread to the nervous system, causing a complication called neurosyphilis.

Finally, pregnant women who are infected with syphilis risk passing the disease on to their newborns. Congenital syphilis can lead to premature birth, congenital disabilities, and even stillbirths.

Myths and Facts About Syphilis

Many syphilis myths that were true in the past are no longer accurate. Still others have come out of the unfounded stigma that can come with having a sexually transmitted disease. In the end, only truth can prevent these myths from spreading. With this post, we’ll go over five of these syphilis myths and counter them with four facts about the disease.

The Myths

Syphilis Is Incurable

Until doctors developed antibiotics in the 1940s, syphilis was indeed incurable. With modern antibiotics and other targeted treatments, however, it is now one of the most curable diseases known to humanity. If you’re wondering whether syphilis can kill you, the answer is sometimes yes. This is why prevention and early treatment are so key.

That said, antibiotics can do nothing about the long-term effects of advanced syphilis. If the disease has reached your nervous system or your eyes, that damage may be permanent. Therefore, getting early rapid STD testing on a regular basis can be critical to preventing these issues.

Syphilis Is a Disease of the Past

Just because humanity has known about a disease for thousands of years doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem today. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 88,000 Americans reported a new infection in 2016 alone. This rate of infection has also been on the rise since it reached its low point in 2001.

You Can’t Get Reinfected

Syphilis is not like chicken pox, where most people only get it once. Reinfection is very easy, especially in cases where one infected partner is unaware of their status. It’s important to know that anyone with syphilis can spread it at any phase of infection, even during the latent periods when no symptoms are visible.

If one person in a committed relationship has syphilis, it’s likely that the other one does as well. The only way to prevent reinfection in these cases is for both partners to seek treatment.

Washing and Douching Will Cure Syphilis

Antibiotics are the only cure available for syphilis. Washing and douching cannot kill the bacteria that cause the disease. While you may be asking, “Can STDs go away without treatment?” the answer to that question is no. You can live with syphilis for years or even decades, but it doesn’t get better on its own.

Syphilis Can Make You Crazy

This syphilis myth comes from centuries ago, when the disease was poorly understood. While advanced syphilis can cause brain damage, it doesn’t make the people who have it “crazy” or “deranged.” This brain damage instead leads to neurological symptoms such as shakiness or loss of vision.

The Facts

Syphilis Can Affect Anyone

This is one of the easiest syphilis facts to prove. Every year, the CDC reports many thousands of new syphilis cases, and the only thing that they all have in common is being sexually active. People who have dozens of sexual partners can get syphilis. So can a person who’s only had sex one time. People of all ages and ethnicities can have syphilis.

Engaging in risky sexual behaviors may increase your chances of a syphilis infection, but reducing these behaviors doesn’t bring that risk to zero. Regular rapid STD testing at one of our convenient labs is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of long-term infection even further.

Syphilis Is Easy to Treat and Cure

We have come a long way from old-fashioned, ineffective treatments for syphilis. Modern antibiotics can clear a syphilis infection in a matter of weeks. The earlier you get tested and diagnosed, the sooner you can benefit from this treatment.

If you treat it early, syphilis doesn’t generally have long-lasting effects. If the infection sits in your body for years, it can wreak havoc.

Syphilis Is Hard To Spot

The first sign of syphilis infection is a small sore called a chancre. If this sore is someplace hard to see, such as inside a person’s vagina or anus, it’s easy not to notice it. In addition, this sore fades away after a few weeks.

In addition, the rash that comes with secondary syphilis doesn’t look the same for everybody. It may only show up on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet, or it may look like a heat rash or a completely different disease altogether.

Because syphilis has long latent periods and because its symptoms can be so hard to recognize, you should get tested at one of Rapid STD Testing’s convenient locations. These tests are effective even for latent syphilis since the bacteria are still present in your body during this time.

You Can Get Syphilis Through Oral Sex

One of the most prevalent myths of syphilis out there is that you cannot get it through oral or anal sex. Any type of sexual contact can spread syphilis. If you frequently engage in oral sex, you should still use a barrier method of protection, such as a condom or a dental dam.

Anal sex is another primary vector for the spread of syphilis. Many people believe that any form of sex outside the vagina is risk-free, but this is far from true. In fact, because the anus doesn’t stretch as much as the vagina does, people who engage in anal sex are at higher risk of contracting syphilis.

How To Prevent and Treat Infections

There are a lot of myths about STDs out there, and they aren’t just about syphilis. While it’s true that avoiding sex is the only surefire way to avoid getting an STD, there are many prevention methods that you should know and educate yourself about when you do have sex.

The first step is to know the STD status of any sexual partners you have. If they change frequently, you should schedule regular tests with Rapid STD Testing for peace of mind and easy treatment. If you prefer long-term relationships, everybody should get tested early on.

Next, use physical methods of STD prevention whenever possible. These methods include male and female condoms and dental dams.

You can protect yourself against some sexually transmitted infections, especially the human papillomavirus, by getting vaccines. Consult with your doctor to see what vaccines are available to you, and take advantage of them while you can.

If you do end up getting an STD, you still have treatment options. Many STDs, including syphilis, are bacterial infections, and a course of antibiotics can quickly cure them. Antifungal creams and pills can take care of genital yeast infections and other fungal maladies. There are a lot of promising antiviral treatments for the diseases that antibiotics can’t cure, as well.

What Should You Do if You Think You Have Syphilis?

Now that you understand the truth about these syphilis myths, the first thing on your mind should be getting a rapid STD test. Our 10-panel STD test looks for a broad spectrum of diseases, including syphilis, so if you don’t know what you’ve been exposed to, we recommend starting with that.